The Game needs no introduction. The annual football contest between Harvard and Yale is one of the most historic rivalries in all of college sports. The Independent has dedicated plenty of words to Harvard’s lack of school spirit, such as our Beanpot article that covered the near-empty student section for the biggest hockey game of the year. The Game is an exception to this phenomenon. It is the flagship event of the social calendar and garners national media attention. For at least one weekend out of the year, the entire student body rallies around tailgating and attending a football game like any Big 10 or SEC school.
While this weekend may be unmatched in its surrounding hype, the fierce competition between these two storied institutions will not end when the scoreboard clock hits zero at the Yale Bowl this Saturday. Athletes in other sports speak about playing Yale with the same fervor, with their own versions of The Game holding an equally special place in their hearts.
“I think just the nature of being at Harvard, one of the best things [as a player] is having that Harvard-Yale rivalry,” said Women’s Lacrosse captain Ilana Kofman ’24. “The tradition really excites us.”
Kofman’s love for the matchup is well-placed. Just like Harvard, Yale is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the country. When coupled with the schools’ geographic proximity and participation in the Ivy League, the rivalry seems almost inevitable. Facing off against Yale gives athletes the opportunity to etch their name into the annals of history, something not lost on Men’s Soccer captain Harry Moore ’24. “One thing that I try to highlight in a team talk before the game is that you’re playing for so much more than just the 30 of us in this room,” he said. “We’re representing all of the people who played before us and the entire University.”
The weight of the past may feel especially heavy to Liam Downing ’25, who races for the Men’s Heavyweight Crew Team. Their end-of-the-season regatta against Yale is the oldest collegiate sporting event in the country, first taking place in 1852. The race is steeped in tradition, perhaps the most notable being the team’s multi-week training camp at a racecourse adjacent facility called Red Top. “It’s definitely a very different atmosphere than campus,” Downing said. “You’re out in Connecticut and really just with the team for nearly a month preparing for the race itself.”
Continuing to train for a single event long after other students have started their summers may seem like an impossible commitment, but this dedication is far from unfounded. Downing explained that many rowers on the team view beating their archrivals as more important than winning the National Championship.
Soccer and Lacrosse do not face the Bulldogs under such isolated circumstances, but rather as part of a larger Ivy League regular season. However, this does not mean that the desire to come out on top is in any way diminished. Games between the two schools often have major championship implications, piling the existing stakes even higher. “Sometimes [preparing] takes a little more composure because there is so much emotion and almost anger just from the rivalry, that natural anger,” Kofman said. She highlighted the importance of ensuring these feelings do not dominate the entire game.
Moore echoed this sentiment, recalling how his first match against Yale opened with two hard fouls in the first five minutes. “A lot of the soccer playing goes out the window, the tactics and things like that, and it’s more of a battle between the two sides,” he said.
This intensity is only heightened by the influx of fans a rivalry game brings. “This past year was a huge game. It was by far our largest attendance,” said Kofman. She estimated that over 1,000 people packed the stands—a mixture of friends, family, and alumni. Downing stated that the Yale race was second only to the Head of the Charles in terms of support, with designated viewing spots and a large barbecue celebration of the season. Moore also welcomed the hostile environment of away games, crediting the nature of Yale’s soccer field. “[It’s] pretty much stadium-like, which gives this really cool atmosphere because the sound is closed in and echoes off the buildings,” he said.
While the excitement and fanfare surrounding playing Yale is exciting, only one factor ultimately matters for the athletes: winning. “It definitely means a lot to how you look at the rest of the season,” Downing said. “It definitely influences your motivations for the next year, whether you win or lose.”
Kofman described her team’s win against Yale last spring as “the best moment in [her] Harvard Lacrosse career.” In the midst of the fight to qualify for the playoffs after a slow start to the year, her team battled back from an early deficit to beat the #16-ranked Bulldogs by a single goal. “It was just so exciting to see everything come together against our rivals,” she said.
Moore has enjoyed victories against his rival the past two seasons in both New Haven and Cambridge. Each game was extremely close, only being decided by late goals from the Crimson. “I think they definitely will have those games in mind coming into [the playoffs] and will be looking to get after us for sure,” he said.
Downing has also seen his fair share of success in the midst of close calls, winning his race in the third varsity boat by just under two seconds. However, he expressed the team’s dismay about losing the first varsity race, a victory that has eluded them since 2014. The winner gets to paint the famed “Harvard-Yale Rock” in their school colors, and Downing hopes to see it covered in crimson soon. “Even though last year my boat won, because the better boats didn’t win, it didn’t really mean anything,” he said. “At the end of the day, you want that rock painted in your color.”
All three athletes interviewed spoke about facing Yale with an intensity that matches what one has come to expect from The Game every year. The athletic battle between the Crimson and the Bulldogs is not merely a one-off event, but a never-ending struggle for superiority that materializes wherever there are more points to be scored or more races to be won.
Declan Buckley ’24 (declanbuckley@college.harvard.edu)hopes to write about many more victories against Yale before he graduates.